courtly tone.
Carla smiled.
‘There’s no reason for you to apologize. On the contrary, thank you for your assistance.’
The man shook his head with an expression of disgust.
‘You are from the north, I think. Yes? To come here and have this horrible experience, this appalling breach of every law of Sicilian courtesy… I feel deeply ashamed, signorina, but the cruel fact is that nowadays there are scum everywhere. At one time, a man like that wouldn’t have dared show his face out of doors. By the same token, of course, a lovely young woman such as yourself wouldn’t have dreamt of going for a walk unaccompanied in an isolated spot such as this. But there we are! The old rules have broken down and the new ones have yet to take effect.’
Carla nodded briskly. Apparently she had evaded her amateurish shadower only to fall into the clutches of yet another elderly bore.
‘Well, thanks for getting rid of him. Now I must be off or I’ll be late for my appointment.’
‘Of course, of course! How far do you have to go?’
‘To Aci Trezza.’
‘Why, that’s where I live myself! It’s no more than ten minutes’ walk from here. Allow me to accompany you, signorina. No, no, I insist! I was on my way home anyway, and after that disagreeable incident I wouldn’t feel right letting you go alone. Have you been along here before? I come out every morning, to get some exercise and study the bird life. There’s a really quite amazing variety of species to be seen, some native, others migratory…’
Taking Carla’s arm, he led the way along the path, keeping up a continuous commentary on the fauna and flora of the littoral, about which he seemed oppressively well-informed. As soon as they reached the outskirts of Aci Trezza, Carla explained that she was meeting someone at I Ciclopi, and took leave of her courtly companion, although not before he had given her directions to the hotel as well as one of his cards, and insisted that the next time she was there she should contact him.
There was no sign of Corinna at the restaurant, but Carla’s suitcase had arrived. She reclaimed it and toyed with a cappuccino for twenty minutes, then walked outside. By now it was eleven forty-five, just fifteen minutes from the time when she had been instructed to give up and go home. It was deliciously warm yet airy in the shade of the huge awning. The only sounds were the slushy static of the wavelets on the rocks, the occasional clank of pots and pans in the kitchens, and the subliminal growl of a helicopter circling somewhere overhead.
‘Signorina Arduini?’
It was a uniformed waiter, professionally deferential.
‘Yes?’
‘There is a phone call for you. This way, please.’
She followed the man across the lobby to a table with a telephone. The waiter dialled zero and passed the receiver to Carla.
‘Hello?’
‘Carla?’
‘Yes.’
‘It’s me. Leave the hotel and turn left into Via San Leonarbello. At number sixty-three you’ll find a green Nissan. It’s unlocked. Follow the written instructions on the driver’s seat.’
The line went dead.
Via San Leonarbello turned out to be an alley of single-storey fishermen’s houses, most of which seemed to have been converted into holiday homes. Sure enough, a green Nissan saloon was parked outside number sixty- three. Carla glanced along the street, then opened the passenger door and got in. A piece of paper with writing lay on the driver’s seat.
KEYS IN GLOVE COMPARTMENT.
DRIVE TO END OF STREET, TURN LEFT.
STOP OPPOSITE SPAR GROCERY.
KEEP ENGINE RUNNING.
Carla sighed sourly. If she’d had any idea what was involved, she would never have agreed to accompany Corinna on this stupid weekend outing to Taormina. All this games-playing was beginning to get on her nerves. But it was too late to back out now. She put her suitcase in the back of the car, moved over to the driver’s seat and drove off.
The grocery store, one of the ubiquitous Spar chain, was easy enough to find, but there was no space to park anywhere on the narrow street. Carla drew up opposite the store, blasted the horn and consulted her watch. All right, Corinna, she thought. You’ve got sixty seconds exactly, then I dump the car and get the next bus back to Catania. She had laundry to do and several long-overdue letters to write, and there was the new Nanni Moretti film which she’d been meaning to see for some time. She’d loved Caro Diario, and even if this one wasn’t as good, the prospect of a few hours in an air-conditioned cinema was a powerful inducement.
The passenger door opened and Corinna Nunziatella got in, barely recognizable in a man’s suit, shirt and tie. Her face was obscured as before by her aviator sunglasses, while her cropped hair was almost invisible beneath a large straw hat.
‘Go!’ she said urgently
‘Go where?’
‘Just go! I’ll give you directions later.’
Carla put the Nissan in gear and drove to the end of the street.
‘Left here,’ Corinna Nunziatella told her. ‘Now right. Do a U-turn in the middle of the block, then right again at the lights. Run the red, there are no traffic police round here. Do you like my outfit?’
Carla smiled distractedly.
‘It’s, er… interesting.’
‘This car belongs to a friend. They have four altogether, so she won’t miss it. The hardest part was getting out of the house without my escort spotting me. Hence the disguise.’
‘Won’t it raise a few eyebrows at the hotel?’
Corinna laughed.
‘Not in Taormina! They’ve seen everything there. It’s always been a sort of extra-territorial enclave here in Sicily, a place where none of the usual rules apply. As long as your money holds out, no one cares what you do. Left here across the railway tracks, then sharp right and follow the signs to the motorway.’
She glanced playfully at Carla.
‘Anyway, I happen to think I look rather fetching, so there. And you? No problems?’
Carla swayed her head slowly from side to side, indicating that this was not precisely the case.
‘I was followed. But I’m pretty sure it was just some creep who lives with his mother and wanted to look at my legs. He was much too obvious to be a professional. Anyway, this old man who was out watching birds along the coast got rid of him for me.’
To Carla’s surprise, Corinna insisted on her recounting the entire story, detail by detail. The older woman’s face grew grimmer and grimmer.
‘A classic sacrifice,’ she remarked when Carla had finished. ‘I don’t want to alarm you, but this is not good news. It confirms that they’re on to you as well.’
‘Who are?’
‘That “creep” you say was following you, the conspicuous way he was dressed and acting was quite deliberate. With someone like me they would have been more subtle, but they knew you weren’t used to the rules of the game, so they went completely over the top. You were meant to spot him and become suspicious. That was the whole point. Then, at just the right psychological moment, along comes this chivalrous, inoffensive slightly tedious old-world gentleman who promptly rids you of your ostentatious tail. You’re naturally so grateful and relieved that you’re not going to suspect him.’
‘But he wasn’t following me, Corinna!’
‘Didn’t you just tell me that he walked the whole way to Aci Trezza with you, and that you then asked him for directions to I Ciclopi?’
‘Yes, but…’
‘Did you see him after that?’
